Excerpt:

She led him further down the hall, to the second to last room on the right and opened the door. Like all the rooms at Esther-Jean’s it was simple to be point of being almost monastic. There was twin size bed against the far wall, covered in a green chenille bedspread. A single pillow rested against the wrought iron head board. On the opposite wall sat a squat dresser with four deep drawers, each with different pulls. A battered brown wing-back chair sat in a corner, partnered with a wooden side table with a triangular top and a floor lamp perched behind the chair, like a praying mantis about to strike. Long fringe hung down from the shade and was sure to tickle the ears of anyone taller than Jubilee, which was most of Esther-Jean’s clientele. One window, between the bed and wing backed chair, let in the early afternoon light. The shade was pulled halfway down, giving the window a look of en eye in mid-wink. There was nothing else in the room that could count as decoration, no pictures on the walls, no curtain on the window, not even a mirror above the dresser. The air in the room was thick and stifling. Jubilee strode across the room, pulled up the shade and opened the sash to let in what little breeze there was outside. Then she opened the closet. Three lonely wire hangers hung on a metal bar, the gaps between them like the spaces between missing teeth.
Lonnie stepped into the room and set his suitcase at the foot of the bed. He took off his jacket and hung it over one of the arms of the wing-backed chair. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his blue dress shirt. Rings of sweat darkened the underarms of his shirt. Jubilee was taken aback by his seemingly intimate gestures. Lonnie was between her and the door and she suddenly felt trapped.
He must have noticed her discomfort because he asked, “You allright?”
She fanned her hand in front of her face. “Yeah, it’s just the heat.”
He grunted in agreement. “Hey, is there a fan in here?”
“Nope,” she replied, “but I’m sure I can find one for you. But any extras are going to cost you. House rules.”
He rolled his eyes a bit and nodded his head. “I know. I think that grandma of yours has a rule for everything.
“You said it, Mister. So”, she said, hoping he’d move away from the door. “You never answered the question – how long are you planning to stay?”
He shrugged his shoulders and much to her relief, moved to stand in front of the window with his arms outstretched to catch the breeze. “Don’t know yet. I have a few things to take care of.”
She moved to the doorway as if to leave, but her curiosity got the better of her. “What kind of things?” she asked.
He had his hands in his pockets now and the breeze was ruffling his tie. A nice blue silk with white stripes. He didn’t answer her for a few moments, but just looked out the window. His room faced the street and the window afforded a nice view of the street and the house across the way. Like Esther-Jean’s it was also a place of business, catering to the personal needs of its clientele.
He nodded his head in the direction of the house. “What do you know about that place?”
“Well,” she said, wondering what his motivations for wanting to know. Room rentals weren’t Esther-Jean’s only source of income so she had to be cautious in case he was a Fed. “Not much. Used to be a blind pig, but somebody else took it over a couple of months ago. Seems like a nicer place, or at least it’s quieter now. The people who go in there aren’t quite so….” She searched for the right word, but couldn’t come up with one.
Lonnie turned to her. “Quite so what?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” She said. “Icky, I guess. “ Her mouth started to get away from her. “At least it was quieter until last night. I slept right through it, but I guess a coupla guys who used to go there tried to get in and when they got thrown out they came back later, drunker than the nines, and mistook our front door for the one across the street. They did a real number on it.”
Lonnie raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I thought your grandma was a cheapskate. It doesn’t look like there’s anything wrong with your door now.”
Jubilee nodded, “Yeah, well that’s because the guy across the street is paying for it. Esther-Jean says he’s got to be a real low life son of a bitch to operate the kind of place he does, but at least he takes care of his problems.”
Lonnie seemed excited and Jubilee thought she was going to get a reprimand for her brash language, but instead he asked her what the guy’s name was.
“O’Grady is his last name. I haven’t really met him, only seen him a few times going in and out. He’s supposed to stop by today to give Esther-Jean the money for the door.” She let a nervous giggle escape through her lips. “She’s warned me so many times not to go near that place, now I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Really,” said Lonnie, sizing Jubilee up. “Do you always listen to her?”
“No….” she said, “not always.” A niggling sense of danger fluttered in her stomach. She clamped it down. “Why?”
Lonnie turned his attention back out the window. “How’d you like to earn a little easy money?”